GHNS Illinois Budget (6/27/08)

Friday

Jun 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 27, 2008 at 3:31 AM

GHNS Illinois Budget (6/27/08)

Here are the top Illinois stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at www.gatehousenewsservice.com. Please check www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/news in the evening for changes to story lineup, including breaking news.

If your paper has a story, digest item, opinion piece or standalone photo to share, please e-mail it to Illinois@gatehousemedia.com.

SPRINGFIELD – They often are mistaken for nurses. Surgical patients make appointments with them to receive detailed explanations about opening the body and making life-changing repairs. Still, some are amazed to realize these women will be the ones holding the scalpel, directing the operating-room team and performing the surgery. By Dean Olsen of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x415947464

STATE BRIEFS: News from around the state. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x2010598581

Statehouse Insider column. By Doug Finke of the State Capitol bureau. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1713651073
State Capitol Notebook. By the State Capitol bureau staff. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x19926421

18TH CANDIDATE. An Independent now has filed for the 18th Congressional race. Independent is not recognized as an official party. By Bernard Schoenburg of the State Journal-Register and Karen McDonald of the Peoria Journal Star. Will be posted this evening.

WITH: Third-party candidates and independents in Illinois haven't had a lot of success in statewide races in recent history. And because of that spotty history - helped along by tougher requirements for non-established party candidates to get on the ballot – Democrats and Republicans have remained the dominant
players in the state. By Bernard Schoenburg of the State Journal-Register. POSTED.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1743979864

IDOT MOVE: The Harrisburg Daily Register will be covering the announcement that the state plans to move more than 100 IDOT jobs to Harrisburg. POSTED.

Beaman experiences freedom: Chewing gum, cell phones, sunrises

ROCKFORD – In the hours after his release from prison, Alan Beaman drank water from a glass, chewed gum, used a knife to cut his steak dinner, talked on a cell phone and played with two dogs. The mundane details of everyday life stood out in the 35-year-old’s mind as monumental Friday, his first day of freedom in 13 years. By Corina Curry of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x2113787222

Couple puts Lincoln images up for sale

SPRINGFIELD – The more than 150 images of Abraham Lincoln that collectors Jim and Carole Shay have displayed at the Springfield Art Association Gallery of Art include a portrait of the 16th president made up of text from the Gettysburg Address. For $286, someone else may own the Gettysburg portrait given the fact that the Shays are selling all the images in the exhibition, “The Many Faces of Abe: The Jim and Carole Shay Collection.” By Tamara Browning of the State Journal-Register.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x415948368

Meth makers face new obstacles

CARTERVILLE – A pilot program may further complicate the lives of meth makers in Williamson County and surrounding areas. By Diane Wilkins of the Marion Daily Republican.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x379977564

Gas retailer says prices will stay up

PEORIA – Is there anything one can do about the soaring price of gasoline? Is there any relief in sight? "In the short term, not much," Terry Beachler of Beachler's Servicenter told the South-West Kiwanis Club on Thursday. "I think all energy prices are going to continue going up and I don't see it going away." By Catharine Schaidle of the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x833721777

ILLINOIS BUSINESS
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois_business

Employers try to hang on to employees with new perks at work

ROCKFORD – Employers think outside the box for ways to show their appreciation ... and to retain their best and brightest. By Nate Legue of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x390620237

When the children were tucked in and the cat was fed, when the laundry was folded and the dishes put away, nine young mothers left their chores behind to do something they hadn’t done all day long: nothing. By Elizabeth Davies of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x379975631

Chocolate of the sea: Cook wows national contest judges with shrimp recipe

DIXON – Don’t be too quick to turn your nose up at Alison Brantley’s Chocolate Basil Shrimp. One taste and you might just find that it’s pretty darned good. By Elizabeth Davies of the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/lifestyle/food/x415946525

I’ll admit it, I’m averse to flying in adverse weather conditions. Actually, I’m not fond of flying at all, but I wanted to illustrate the difference between “averse” and “adverse.”
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/columnists/barry_wood/x1470893871

Editorial: Supreme Court finally defines Second Amendment

Talk about a landmark ruling. Thursday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court finally told us what the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution means. We’d only been waiting since 1791, for heaven’s sake. An editorial from the Rockford Register Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/opinions/editorials/x833721670

Editorial: Can this budget be saved?

The never-ending budget feud between Gov. Rod Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan represents nothing so much as a game of who blinks first. It's pointless and puerile, on both their parts. An editorial from the Peoria Journal Star.
http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x833721787